AG Neronha Accepted Trips Paid for in Part by 3rd Parties to France, Las Vegas, and Seattle

AG Neronha Accepted Trips Paid for in Part by 3rd Parties to France, Las Vegas, and Seattle

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, during his last three years in office, has taken a dozen trips that were paid for, in part, by third parties.

These trips were disclosed, according to Neronha’s financial disclosure forms filed with the Rhode Island Ethics Commission.

Neronha took partially subsidized trips to locations including Normandy, France; Las Vegas, Nevada; Seattle, Washington; and a casino resort in South Dakota.

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In total, Neronha accepted $23,833.54 in travel subsidies. The vast majority was in 2024, $18,683.63. SEE ALL THE TRIPS BELOW.

Two of the trips were tied to a group that is widely criticized.

 

CNN and Axios Raise Questions

The Attorney General Alliance (AGA) is a rising organization of state attorneys general. Axios reported that it is drawing criticism for courting sponsorships for lavish conferences and foreign junkets from a stable of lobbyists and corporate patrons.

CNN reported this past week that these trips tied to the AGA may create conflicts of interest. “The trips were tens of thousands of dollars, business class and a whole lot more. And who paid for them? The companies, companies they were investigating.”

 

 

 

Summer in France

One of Neronha’s most expensive trips was to France to the Attorney General Alliance (AGA) cosponsored event in Normandy. The event was in conjunction with the National Association of Attorneys General, a century-old group. AGA would not provide dates for the event, but one attorney general told the Star Tribune the event took place for July 29 through Aug. 3, 2024.

The trip illuminates how corporate lawyers and lobbyists can gain access to officials who regulate their businesses with help from the AGA.

"Lobbyists essentially fund these trips,’’ Christopher Toth, a former National Associations of Attorneys General executive director, told the Star Tribune. "They funnel the money through AGA, and then that insulates the AGs from being criticized that they’re taking money from lobbyists.’’

“The AGA said 26 attorneys general were on the trip. The nonprofit group said the Olympics were not on the itinerary, though the marquee international athletic competitions coincided with it,” added the Star Tribune report.

 

 

Casino Resort

Neronha also attended an AGA event at a mountain resort in Deadwood, South Dakota, in October 2024. The dates of the event were not disclosed by Neronha in his Ethics financial disclosure report.

A GoLocal review found that the event was attended by top law firms and lobbyists.

One of the speakers was Jean Smith-Gonnell of the law firm Toutman Pepper Locke who promoted prior to the event that she “will be speaking at the upcoming Attorney General Alliance Working Group Meeting in Deadwood, South Dakota on the 'Federal Rescheduling of Cannabis' panel that will discuss the proposed federal rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III.”

The firm has an office in Providence — it was previously Locke Lord.

 

 

Neronha Response

GoLocal reached out to Neronha’s office about the trips.

Neronha's spokesperson, Megan Skinner, responded to GoLocal in an email, "The Attorney General discloses travel paid for by third-party organizations in his ethics disclosure form, which every elected official must annually file with Rhode Island’s Ethics Commission. Organizations that have paid for the Attorney General's travel include the National Association of Attorneys General, the Attorney General Alliance, and the Democratic Attorneys General Association. These organizations host conferences and gatherings throughout the year that include substantive programming beneficial to the Attorney General’s and the Office's work. For example, the Attorney General recently attended a conference hosted by the Democratic Attorney General's Association where substantive work took place to benefit the Attorney General’s ongoing efforts to protect Rhode Islanders from harm by the federal government. SEE HIS FEDERAL ACTIONS HERE.

 

But, Neronha's office did not respond to the following questions:

- The General attended an AGA-sponsored event in France and a resort in South Dakota. Does that create a perception of a conflict?

- Also, did anyone travel with him to either of these events?

- Did he attend the Olympics as part of the trip to France?

- Is he attending the upcoming AGA event in Italy?